SportsKnowHow.com - Football Rules - Governing Bodies
Below you will
find some of the prominent Football
rules organizations and governing
bodies. Click on the links to
see more information regarding
the listed organizations.
American
football is considered as one of
the more physically demanding sports
today. Each player (some weighing
over 300 pounds) stands to experience
a huge deal of physical contact each
game as they run, throw a ball, block,
tackle, and out run each other in
an effort to force the ball further
into their opponent’s
territory and into the end zone.
Football is played by two opposing
teams, each fielding 11 players.
A football game consists of four
quarters, each with 15 minutes.
A football game is played on a
rectangular field, 100 yd (91.4 m)
long and 53.5 yd (48.9 m) wide. At
both ends of the 100-yard dimension,
white lines called goal lines mark
off the entrances to the end zones.
Each team defends one end zone. A
team must carry, pass, or kick the
ball into the 10-yd (9-m) end zone
on the opponents' half of the field
to score. Each play must begin on
or between the hash marks. The hash
marks are 53 ft 4 in (16.3 m) from
each sideline in college and high
school football, and 70 ft 9 in (21.6
m) from each sideline in the National
Football League (NFL). Before each
play, the officials place the ball
either between the hash marks or
on the hash mark closest to the end
of the previous play.
